The Friends of my Friend…

I located Gerald “Jock” Berlyn’s place of business on Settlers Way, and parked the bike next to his own 1200 Adventure. After introducing ourselves, Jock packed up for the day and then together we rode around town, collecting a battery for his SuperMoto Blue-tooth, and then a new F4 Interphone (identical to my own unit…) for his helmet. This meant that we would be able to communicate during our ride the next day…. We went on to meet with Owen Saunders, owner of a photographic business, who had recently ridden from East London to Germany on his BMW 1200 GSA, taking three months to do the trip, and traveling in “lean and mean” mode, with only a small kit-bag of gear !! We discussed the route he had taken, and much of what he had done up above the equator, tied in with my own ideas of which roads I wanted to ride… The dreaded “Isiolo to Moyale” stretch featured prominently in our discussions, and for the umpteenth time, I felt a little shiver of trepidation at the thought of having to tackle this section of the “Road to Hell” on my own….

After settling in at Jock’s place, and meeting his wife Corien, and what seemed like a multitude of cats, he dropped me off at another of his  biker friends, before going back home to host a church meeting that he had previously arranged. Allan Booth is in his own words, “a man of action”… He is like a walking “Camel Ad”… Adventure Biking, Surf-skiing, Kayaking, 4 X 4 Instructor and trail blazer…. He proudly announced that he was currently on his 66 th bike, which immediately begged the question, “How have you managed to kill so many of them ??”… In all fairness, he has been riding for something like 40 odd years and has tried and tested all makes and models you care to name… He is a very knowledgeable guy and we spoke at length about his various exploits over the years (mainly aboard his beloved XT 500, 25 years young, and still going “like a bomb”… He has also rebuilt a Volkswagen Panel Van, and tours the countryside, visiting those out of the way places, and sleeping wherever he finds a suitable spot to park… A free spirit, is our man Allan…!! Despite his clean-cut appearance,  he could easily claim the title of “Oldest Hippie in East London”….

Together with his wife, Nolene, we went round to the local Surf-Ski and Lifesavers Club, to take in “Brian Finch and the Elevators”, who were playing a gig in East London that night. Brian Finch can best be described as a folk singer, with a voice akin to that of Jethro Tull. He is a brilliant guitarist, and his version of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” nearly brought the roof down… Gut wrenching stuff….!!!! He lives in Prince Albert, and this 63 year old can rock with the best of them… With the party in full swing, I realized that Allan would not be taking me home to Jock’s place any time before midnight… I had come to this conclusion shortly after he walked up to me and handed me a wine glass of Jagermeister, the half empty bottle dangling from his left hand… He then wandered through crowd, pouring shots to all and sundry, and capped this off by interrupting Brian Finch in the middle of a song to offer him a shot as well…

It had been a long and tiring day for me, and when Jock arrived to collect me, I was thankful that sleep was only moments away… But there was still work to be done… We sat around the dining table, fiddling with our headsets to ensure that they were properly linked… I can’t imagine what anybody peeping through the windows would have thought if they had seen us… At 2.00am in the morning, two grown men, sitting opposite each other, indoors, their helmets on, chatting away like it was the most natural thing in the world !! Ah…but for a photo of that !!

We were up at 6.30am, and after more fiddling with headsets, GPS routes and a few last minute business calls for Jock, we left his house and made our way to another of Jock’s mates (this man has a multitude of “connections”) where we fitted an additional wind deflector to my windshield to reduce the buffeting of the air flow around my helmet. Thanks Jono, it HAS made a difference !!

Jealousy is a terrible thing, Jono... You need to work on that, China !!!!

We stopped for breakfast at the Lavender Blue Country Stall, situated on a strawberry farm just outside town (Yes, it was going to be a long day….) and had “Eggs Florentine”, ironic considering that I had not thought of the name Florentine for some time now…. The meal was served on metal plates, accompanied by a big steel mug of coffee to get the day started in the proper fashion… And then we were off….

Er…actually, we weren’t…. Jock wanted me to meet yet another friend of his, who lived aboard his yacht, berthed on the Buffalo River… Peter Jacobey was sound asleep, but Jock’s repeated “Ahoy’s !!” eventually roused him from his slumbers, and he staggered out on deck, squinting into the morning sun… His yacht, a 38 footer of dubious distinction, did not seem ready for the “Round the World” trip he had in mind, but I guess the phrase “Nothing ventured, nothing gained…” will have to apply in Peter’s case…

After a brief chat, we left the yacht basin, and turned onto the R72 for Port Alfred… Seriously….we were on our way….!!!

Following Jock on the R72 to Port Alfred... The new Wind Deflector in situ...

© GBWT 2010